


A Date in Unexplored Lands

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 23:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11885475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Louisa, Jack, and Zelda go on another triple date with their partners, this time to a more restricted area.





	A Date in Unexplored Lands

A Date in Unexplored Lands

Organising triple dates was tricky. First, all six people involved had to find a time that was suitable for all of them. This wasn't difficult when three of them didn't have regular jobs, but they all had important things to do. The other hard part was finding a place that suited all of them. In Jorvik, it was technically illegal to discriminate against someone based on their sexual preferences, race, gender etc, but people were people and people were, as Jack was so fond of saying, assholes. Eventually, Ydris came to the conclusion that it would be easiest for all of them if he chose a more isolated place. Jorvik had plenty of those, thankfully.

Now, Ydris stood mulling over a map of Jorvik. South Hoof Peninsula was a very nice place, but it might remind Justin of a dark period of his life. It could just as easily remind him of the point where he'd found the little pony who had filled him with light and life, but Ydris didn't want to risk it. Besides, they could quite easily be trampled by the wild herd, the wind was always blowing across the peninsula, and there was the ever-present danger of stepping or sitting in something unpleasant. Also Madison might interrupt them.

The Everwind Fields were also out of the question due to the sheep and people always there, as were the Firgrove mountains because the mist was too heavy. There was simply nowhere in Jorvik that was a nice place filled with nature. But there was a place that nobody was allowed to go...

Putting the map away, Ydris got out his spell book and set about memorising spells of invisibility and barrier-breaking. He remembered that Jack and Zelda had gone to this place once, so they would surely love to return there with their loved ones, and Lisa and Louisa might enjoy the peace and quiet too.

"Have you decided yet?" asked Jack, leaning against the doorframe of Ydris' little magic room.

"Shh, I'm busy," Ydris muttered. "And shut the door, I don't want our fur babies making a mess on the floor."

"Yeah, the room smells bad enough as it is," said Jack, but he laughed. "See you in a bit."

When Ydris emerged and told Jack the plan, Jack hugged him.

"Thanks for taking all that into consideration," said Jack.

"I remember our first few group dates," said Ydris. "All of those rude waitresses and how you were too nervous to eat."

"And you decided not to have a repeat of that," said Jack.

"There are two nervous people now," said Ydris. "And Justin isn't comfortable with crowds. Not after..."

"Yeah," said Jack. "So, have you picked a date?"

"This Saturday," said Ydris. "Lisa doesn't have any shows then, nor do I because that other magician is performing, and Thomas has been very eager for Justin to get out more."

"I'll tell the others," said Jack, getting out his phone and sending a text to his two friends.

"Aww, sweet, we're going back there!" Z cheered when she got the text.

"Going where?" asked Justin, trying to look at her screen over her shoulder.

"The Mountains of Jor," said Z. "I've been going there a lot lately."

"Didn't you also go there once with Jack?" asked Justin.

"Yes," said Z, smiling. "And it was wonderful."

"What's it like?" asked Justin.

"Well, you know how the places beyond the boundaries are always changing, so it's probably different now," said Z. "But there are these beautiful lakes and trees, and blueberry bushes."

"It sounds like a nice little vacation area," said Justin.

"Mm-hm, and you do need a decent holiday," said Z. "A little getaway. We might go camping there if you want."

"We'll see how I like the place," said Justin. "In the meantime, I'm looking forward to Saturday morning."

"Saturday morning at ten?" said Louisa when she got the message upon returning to her bedroom where her phone was on the charger. "I guess I can be up by then."

"I'll wake you cooking breakfast," said Lisa.

"Yes, the smoke alarm also doubles as a great wake up alarm," said Louisa. Lisa poked her tongue out at her girlfriend, and Louisa poked her in the sides, eliciting a yelp from the redhead which she laughed at. A tickle-fight ensued.

Saturday morning came around rather quickly, especially for Z who was counting down the days, and the group of six gathered in the little grove of trees at the end of the Fire Trail near the tunnel which was still being worked on. 

"Not to be a downer, but how are we gonna get in there?" asked Lisa. "Aren't there forcefields up around the place to stop people getting in there?"

"Yes, which is exactly why this place is perfect for a secluded little date," said Ydris. "Fortunately, I know a way past those pesky forcefields. And I also know how to prevent us from being detected by the druids who are posted in there for the specific purpose of keeping people out."

"Do it," said Z, grinning and holding her arms out.

"Alright, I'll do you first," said Ydris with a chuckle. Normally Z was a little more cautious around magic, but clearly this was a different situation. She didn't flinch as the invisibility magic settled on her with a tingling feeling, though Phantom did snort, stomp and swish his tail as the shivery feeling covered him too.

"Did it really work? I can still see you," said Louisa.

"She is visible only to us," said Ydris. "After all, there wouldn't be much fun in a triple date if we couldn't see each other, now, would there?"

"Good point," said Lisa. "Can you do me next?"

"I'm still not sure if we should trust this rogue element, Lisa," said Starshine, sneezing at the magic.

"Oh, don't be a downer," said Lisa. "Ydris is cool."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Lisa," said Ydris. Louisa stepped forward next, and shivered as the invisibility spell felt like icy water trickling down her spine. Smokeeye shuffled her hooves and swished her tail, but she didn't seem too annoyed.

"I'll go next," said Jack upon seeing that Justin was understandably quite nervous. The last time he'd been subjected to magic, it had been a cruel honesty spell that had ripped the truth from his lungs at his trial. Ydris decided not to think about that, though.

"Thanks," said Justin. Dale appeared to enjoy the feeling of the magic, and Jack smiled, too. It was like being hugged by his magician. Ydris quickly performed the spell on himself and his little white Jorvik Pony, and finally, only Justin needed the invisibility spell.

Justin gulped and trembled as he sat in front of the magician on Wildhope, his little palomino Welsh pony. The pony breathed slowly, and Justin matched his breathing with his horse's.

"Do it," said Justin once his entire body had relaxed.

"It's already done," said Ydris.

"Really?" asked Justin.

"Yes, while you were distracted trying to relax," said Z, riding up beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh," said Justin, and laughed. "Wow, thanks, Wildhope!" He petted his pony's mane, and Wildhope nickered as though proud of himself.

At last, Ydris raised a hand and a hole erupted in the first forcefield, one large enough for even Phantom and Smokeeye to walk through with riders on their backs. It was a nerve-wracking slide down to the bottom of the large rocks, but finally, all six horses stood in a land that only few had set foot in before.

"This place looks so nice," said Louisa, looking around as they rode through a small grove of trees.

"Oh, it gets nicer," said Z, riding at the front of the group and clearly struggling to stay in a canter. "Come on, there's so much more to see!"

"Give them time to look around, Z, they've never been here before," said Jack with a laugh. Z groaned, to more laughter from the group.

"Stop here," said Z a little way after riding along a beach where grass was mixed in with the sand (it reminded Louisa of a few beaches she'd been to back home in Australia).

"Why?" asked Lisa, and then Starshine suddenly stopped.

"A wall," said Starshine.

"Yep, here's the second forcefield," said Z. "Ydris, if you'll do the honours?"

Once they were through, Z began riding Phantom at a flat-out gallop, and her boyfriend struggled to keep up.

"Z, wait for me!" Justin called, and Ydris chuckled as he rode at the back of the group with Jack while the other two also ran ahead.

But, on a stretch of grass leading down to the water, Jack and Ydris caught up to the rest of the group who were staring, slack-jawed, at the biggest trees they'd ever seen.

"Welcome," said Z, gesturing to the trees, "to the most beautiful place in Jorvik."

"Woah," said Louisa, at a loss for words as she rode Smokeeye slowly forward. She instinctively rode on a path, though the others split off in pairs in their own directions.

"This place is really beautiful," said Lisa.

"Yeah, like a retreat or something," said Louisa, her voice hushed with awe. "Wow..."

Jack and Ydris, to the surprise of nobody, rode into the trees, where Jack immediately felt at home. 

"This makes my inner woodland prince very happy," said Jack.

"I'd imagine it would," said Ydris with a chuckle. "I was going to suggest that we eat first but they've already wandered off."

"Heh, can you blame them?" asked Jack. He could see Louisa over by the blueberry bushes gathering wild blueberries and feeding them to her girlfriend, and he smiled at the sight.

"No," said Ydris. "Honestly, it's impossible not to want to explore in this place." He loosened his pony's reins so that the small creature could graze, and the two of them sat in near silence to soak up the tranquility of this place.

"Does your heart feel at peace here?" asked Z from further ahead where she rode with Justin.

"I'm going to need Ydris to take me here more often," said Justin. "Or you could take me here."

"I might," said Z, smiling as she gazed around in wonder at the beauty of the place. They rode up a path out of the trees, and soon came upon the beautiful lakes shining in the sunlight.

"Let's just stay here for a while?" asked Justin once he managed to find words. He continued riding, and soon saw a nice little empty spot. "That looks like a nice place to set up camp."

"Thinking ahead already? I like it," said Z. "But yes, we will definitely come camping here in the future."

Lisa and Louisa soon found their way out of the woods and rode along the lakeside, passing Z and Justin and waving at them. They followed the path until it became nothing more than rocky hills, and then Lisa grinned and jumped Starshine up onto a rock.

"This reminds me of our first date," said Lisa as Louisa sat beside her on Smokeeye. They had a great view of the lakes from here and, in the distance, the tops of the trees were visible.

"Yeah, only we're not supposed to be here," said Louisa with a laugh. She leaned her head on Lisa's shoulder. "This is nice, though. I love it."

"Me too," said Lisa, feeling perfectly content even perched precariously on a rock. "Remind me to thank Z and Ydris for thinking of this place."

"I'll thank them myself," said Louisa.

"You can thank us at lunch!" Ydris called up to them. "Which will be as soon as we all get together!"

"Is someone hungry?" Lisa called back down to him.

"Yes!" Ydris called back. Lisa laughed.

"I am too," said Lisa, turning to her girlfriend and starting down the rock. "C'mon. Let's go have lunch."

At the little space that Justin had picked as a perfect camping spot, Jack and Ydris were sitting on a picnic blanket while their horses grazed nearby.

"Are the other two coming?" asked Louisa, taking a seat beside Lisa after they'd left their horses to graze with the other two.

"Yeah, I just sent them a text," said Jack. "They'll be here soon."

"Well, I've already decided that I love this place and I want to stay here forever," said Louisa.

"Me too," said Jack. "It's just so peaceful."

"Yes, and there's so much room to explore," said Louisa. "And those blueberries? The best I've ever tasted. Even better than the ones in Greendale."

"Hard to believe but the truth is definitely in the eating," said Lisa. "We're going to try out some new recipes with them when we get home."

"With Louisa cooking and you eating?" asked Jack.

"Naturally," said Lisa. Louisa giggled.

"Having fun?" asked Z when she finally appeared on Phantom with Justin not far behind her. He looked more at peace than he had in ages, smiling as he rode on his soul pony.

"We want to live here now," said Louisa.

"Same," said Z, nodding along with Justin.

"We're coming back here to camp someday," said Justin, dismounting and removing Wildhope's bit so that she could go and eat. "In this very spot where we're going to eat. By the way, how are we going to eat?"

"Like this," said Ydris, waving his hand across the picnic blanket. In its wake, food appeared, sandwiches and cakes and salad and bread and cheeses. There were also a few small bottles of soft drinks, juices, and water.

"Nice spread," said Jack, picking up a sandwich and biting into it. Justin looked a little dubious, but he grabbed a sandwich too after Z started eating.

"And don't worry about waste, we have these wonderful inventions called fridges," said Ydris, to much laughter from the group.

They ate and talked, snuggled up in their respective pairs, until the day grew warm and lazy with the onset of afternoon. Louisa lay with her head in Lisa's lap while her girlfriend played with her hair, the two of them the only ones left on the picnic blanket. Z and Justin rode their horses bareback along the trails surrounding the lakes, both of them with their jackets off and their sleeves rolled up. They would have been barefoot too, if not for the dangers of sharp objects on the road. They did, however, remove their shoes to sit with their feet in the water at one point. Z leaned against her boyfriend's chest, smiling contently.

Meanwhile, Jack had finally managed to coax some of the forest animals out of hiding and sat surrounded by them while Ydris sat nearby meditating. It was nice to get away and relax with friends and loved ones, especially when the area was big enough that they could be alone while still being in a group.


End file.
